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Manager Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox looks on from the dugout just hours before his firing Sunday.

The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Saturday, triggering sharp reactions from players who described the decision as shocking, with one veteran saying he would go directly to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow with his complaints about the move.

In addition to Cora, the Red Sox also fired a large part of his coaching staff, including hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. Multiple players went beyond initial shock, with some openly challenging how the decision unfolded and what it means for the team moving forward.

Jason Varitek, the catcher on two World Series champion Red Sox teams and one of the most beloved players in Red Sox history, who was serving as game-planning and run prevention coach this season, was also removed from his job. A statement by the Red Sox said Varitek was not fired but “reassigned.” But media reports contradicted the team’s statement, saying Varitek was “gone.”

Players commented on the mass firing before Sunday’s afternoon game in Baltimore against the Orioles, and their reactions were clear, led by veteran shortstop Trevor Story.

Story: Explanation of Firings Not Sufficient

After Breslow and newly named interim manager Chad Tracy addressed the team Sunday, Story said that he planned to confront Breslow directly about the firings, according to Boston Globe reporter Tim Healey.

“Trevor Story said the Red Sox bosses’ explanation this morning was not sufficient and he intends to have more conversations with Craig Breslow today,” Healey reported.

“It’s up in the air what the true direction of the franchise is,” Story said, as quoted by Healey.

MassLive Red Sox beat reporter Chris Cotillo also reported Story’s unhappiness with the firings.

“Trevor Story is not happy with the decisions and says he wants to clear the air with Craig Breslow today,” Cotillo wrote on his social media account. “Says ‘some of the best coaches in the world didn’t get a fair shot.'”

Story, signed to a six-year, $140 million contract before the 2022 season by Breslow’s predecessor Chaim Bloom, but the 33-year-old has had a difficult time living up to the expectations of his nine-figure deal.

He played only 163 games in his first three years with the Red Sox due to multiple injuries. This season Story has played all 27 Red Sox games, but is batting just .198 with a .533 OPS.

But Story was not alone in his discontent with the firings, and how the Red Sox brass explained them.

Roman Anthony: Firings Were ‘Shocking’

Roman Anthony, Boston’s former top prospect who was ranked the No. 1 prospect in baseball prior to last season, said that he was surprised by the Sunday afternoon bloodbath.

“So, again, shocking, right? Didn’t expect it, but now you kind of just adapt and overcome,” Anthony said, adding that new interim manager Chad Tracy — who managed Anthony and numerous other current Red Sox players at the Triple-A level — “is going to be great.”

Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock, who was selected by Bloom in the 2020 Rule 5 draft after being left unprotected by the New York Yankees, said that when Breslow addressed the players on Sunday, he did not take any questions about the Cora firing, and the firings of the Sox coaches.

“They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball and we need to just focus on playing baseball,” Whitlock said, according to a report by Healey.